Early Japan & Feudalism: The 4 Big Ideas

1. )

4. Early Japan & Feudalism:The 4 Big Ideas • Japan was strongly influenced by geography. • The Japanese borrowed selectively from Chinese culture. • The Japanese developed a feudal system. • Japan experienced stability & a strong government during later feudal times.

6. Brief Overview • Since about 500 CE Japan was ruled by an emperor, but fights between rival warlords led to the development of feudalism in the 1100s. • For several centuries, military rulers controlled Japan. • When the Tokugawa shogunate came to power in 1603, peace and stability was brought to Japan for nearly 300 years.

7. Geography • Japan consists of 4 main islands and over 3,000 smaller islands in the Pacific Ocean. • Japan’s islands are part of the Ring of Fire, a group of lands around the _________Ocean that are vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanoes.

8. How the Geography Affects People • Because Japan’s islands are mountainous, it is difficult to farm. Most of the population has always lived in narrow river valleys or along the coast. • Japan’s rugged terrain has acted as a barrier between various peoples, undermining political unity at times.

10. Japan has relied heavily on the sea…for what reasons? __________________ ___________________ ____________________

11. [food] • [transportation] • [protection from invasions]

12. The Japanese also developed a deep respect for the forces of nature.

13. Early Japan • The introduction of Buddhism to the Japanese from China & Korea in the sixth century helped change Japan’s people and culture. • Japan also maintained close cultural ties with China & Korea for over 400 years. • Perhaps most importantly, Japan imported China’s writing system. Japan previously had no writing system of its own.

14. It was during the Heian period (794-1185) that Japan began to develop its own culture, including the assimilation of Chinese ways to meld with native preferences.

16. Zao Gongen, a protective deity associated with a Shinto-Buddhist cult. **Heian period, 11th or 12th century.

17. Shintoism (a.k.a. Shinto)

18. **Scroll depicting the origin of the Kitano Shrine of the Tenjin cult, one of the most important in the Shinto faith. [Kamakura period, 13th century]

19. The traditional Japanese religion is called Shinto, meaning “the way of the gods.” • Shinto was characterized by the worship of the kami—spirits found in all living and nonliving things.

20. Kami were thought to control the forces of nature. • Believers tried to win their favor through respect, prayer, and offerings. • The shared beliefs of Shinto followers eventually helped unite all of Japan.

24. Diffusion (to spread out from somewhere) from Korea & China • Contact between Korea & Japan occurred as a result of both warfare and trade. • Korea acted like a bridge between China & Japan. • Koreans introduced the Japanese to various aspects of Chinese culture.

25. Great interest in Chinese culture was first sparked among the Japanese around 600, when a Japanese ruler sent nobles to study in China. • For over a century, during China’s Tang dynasty, the Japanese upper classes imported cultural traditions and ideas directly from China.

26. Around 500, Koreans brought the Chinese writing system to the Japanese. • By the 800s, the Japanese had adapted the Chinese writing system to suit their own needs.

27. Traditional Chinese Character: 他们家父子四人都是教师。 (The father and his three sons are all schoolteachers.)

28. “Eternal” Japanese Kanji

29. “Great”

30. Korean

31. Vietnamese thượng đế(“The Eternal”) đó là ý trời (“It was the will of heaven.”)

32. http://japanesetranslator.co.uk/your-nam...

33. Religious Influences for the Japanese • Koreans brought Buddhism from China to Japan. • During feudal times, a Chinese sect called Zen Buddhism spread throughout Japan. • Zen Buddhists value peace, simplicity, nature, and beauty.

34. Zen Koans [read aloud] These koans, or parables, were translated into English from a book called the Shaseki-shu (Collection of Stone and Sand), written late in the thirteenth century by the Japanese Zen teacher Muju (the "non-dweller"), and from anecdotes of Zen monks taken from various books published in Japan around the turn of the 20th century.

35. “A Letter to a Dying Man” Bassui wrote the following letter to one of his disciples who was about to die: "The essence of your mind is not born, so it will never die. It is not an existence, which is perishable. It is not an emptiness, which is a mere void. It has neither color nor form. It enjoys no pleasures and suffers no pains. "I know you are very ill. Liek a good Zen student, you are facing that sickness squarely. You may not know exactly who is suffering, but question yourself: What is the essence of this mind? Think only of this. You will need no more. Covet nothing. Your end which is endless is as a snowflake dissolving in the pure air."

36. “The Real Miracle” When Bankei was preaching at Ryumon temple, a Shinshu priest, who believed in salvation through the repitition of the name of the Buddha of Love, was jealous of his large audience and wanted to debate with him. Bankei was in the midst of a talk when the priest appeared, but the fellow made such a disturbance that bankei stopped his discourse and asked about the noise. "The founder of our sect," boasted the priest, "had such miraculous powers that he held a brush in his hand on one bank of the river, his attendant held up a paper on the other bank, and the teacher wrote the holy name of Amida through the air. Can you do such a wonderful thing?" Bankei replied lightly: "Perhaps your fox can perform that trick, but that is not the manner of Zen. My miracle is that when I feel hungry I eat, and when I feel thirsty I drink."

38. “A Drop of Water” A Zen master named Gisan asked a young student to bring him a pail of water to cool his bath. The student brought the water and, after cooling the bath, threw on to the ground the little that was left over. "You dunce!" the master scolded him. "Why didn't you give the rest of the water to the plants? What right have you to waste even a drop of water in this temple?" The young student attained Zen in that instant. He changed his name to Tekisui, which means a drop of water.

39. The Japanese were also influenced by the Chinese philosophy of Confucianism. • Confucian ideas revolve around values like proper behavior, social order, family loyalty, honoring parents, and respect for learning and education.

40. The Japanese also adopted Chinese customs such as: _____________________ _______________________________ _________________________________

41. tea ceremony • Chinese music and dancing • Japanese built their monasteries to resemble Chinese monasteries.

42. Japanese feudalism…developed as armies battled for power in the 1100s:

43. Japanese-European Feudalism Comparison: • Their systems of feudalism were similar. • Both systems evolved in response to the basic desire for stability. • In both places the emperors and kings were too weak to prevent invasions or halt internal wars. Feudalism provided a way for ruling classes to preserve law and order.

44. JAPAN WOMEN: Status of women declined during feudal times. RELIGION: Zen Buddhist monks had less power than leaders of Catholic Church. EUROPE Code of chivalry (knight’s code) helped raise the status of women. Leaders of Catholic Church had more political power than Buddhist monks. 2 Major Differences Between Japan & Europe